Window regulator



April 3, 1951 A. D. BRUNDAGE- WINDOW REGULATOR 2 SheetsSheet 1 Filed Aug. 2, 1945 INVENTOR.

April 3, 1951 A. D. BRUNDAGE WINDOW REGULATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 2, 1945 INVENTOR. 674 z ,5)

rra/r/v X Patented Apr. 3, 1951 2,547,851 7 WINDOW REGULATOR Alan D. Brundage, Detroit, Mich., assignor to F. L. Jacobs 00., Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application August 2, 1945, Serial No. 608,403

This invention relates generally to motor vehicles and more particularly to a window operating mechanism for raising and lowering windows in a vehicle.

An object of the present invention is to provide a motor driven window regulator which is of simple and inexpensive construction, yet which is reliable and easy to operate. I

Another object of the invention is to provide a motor .driven window regulator which embodies a sub-assembly that may be completed as a unit and then quickly attached to the window glass and to the door panel, so as to facilitate vehicle assembly operations.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved type of window regulator in which means are provided to guide the window in a straight line movement and to prevent binding of the window during its reciprocation. This construction also supports the window .during its opening and closing movements.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved type of window regulator in which. the sliding glass is supported at two relatively widely spaced points upon a pair of swinging arms which carry meshing gear teeth to in-. sure simultaneous swinging movement of the arms in opposite directions and to guide the glassin a straight line direction during its reciprocation. The invention also contemplates counterbalanc- 1 Claim. (01. 268124) dicates a door of a motor vehicle having an inner panel II and an outer panel I2. The panels II and I2 are separated at their upper ends to provide a space I4 through which a vertically reciprocable window I5 is movable. The lower edge of the window glass I5 is seated in a metal channel I6 having a sealing strip II therein for holding the glass.

The mechanism for raising and lowering the window l5 comprises an elongated bracket plate I8 having a base portion I9 adapted to lie against the inner side of panel II, and which is secured thereto by a plurality of distributed screws 20. The base portion I9 of the plate has inwardly .pressed projections 2I for receiving the screws ing means to assist in raising the window, and

means for adjusting the relative positions of the swinging arms to compensate for misalignments. The invention is applied to a window operating mechanism of the type having a structure similar to that which is described and claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 561,521, filed Nomember 2, 1944, now abandoned.

Other objects and advantages of the present in' vention will be made more apparent as this description proceeds particularly when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 illustrates in elevation a window operating mechanism constructed according to one alignments.

20, which are inserted from the outer side of the panel.

Along its vertical side edges, the plate I8 has inwardly turned flanges 22 and 23 which reinforce and strengthen the plate, and these flanges are substantially deepened as indicated at 24 and 25.

At their lower ends the wider portions 24 and 25 of the flanges are turned outwardly to form cross flanges 26 and 21. To further strengthen the plate, it is formed with vertically extending pressed out ribs 28 and 29 adjacent opposite side edges of the plate. The plate generally is reduced in width progressively toward its upper end. Openings 30 and 3I reduceits weight and lessen the amount of metal required.

An electric motor 32 is secured to the cross flanges 26 and 2! of the plate I8 by means of bolts 33 and nuts 34. A disk 35, preferably constructed of rubber, is provided between the upper end of the motor casing and the cross flanges 26 and 21 to avoid vibrational noise, and at the same time provide a cushioned support for the motor.

A long vertically arranged shaft 36 is employed in place of the usual motor shaft, and this long shaft at its lower end is journaled in a spherical bearing arranged in a spherical socket as shown at 3'! in Fig. 2, so as to take care of slight mis- Shaft 36 is journale'd at the upper end of the motor in a bearing 38 on the motor casing, which may also be of the self-aligning type if desired. Above the motor, shaft 36 is formed with a screw or thread 39. As best seen in Fig. 3, the upper end 40 of the motor shaft is smaller and projects into a ball element 4|. This ball element seats in a spherical shaped socket portion 42 formed in a U-shaped bracket element 43 which has its legs spot welded to the base I9 of the bracket plate I8. This construction pro- 'vides a self-aligning bearing for the upper end of the shaft 36.

To move the window vertically, a nut 44 is provided on the screw 39. As best seen in Fig. 1, this nut is generally of inverted T-shape with the vertical leg threaded on the screw. Opposite ends of the cross portion of the nut are respectively connected to vertically disposed arms 45 and 46 in such a manner as to permit pivotal movement of the nut about a horizontal axis.

The upper ends of the arms 45 and 46, as best shown in Fig. 4, are pivotally connectedto legs 41 and 48 respectively of a U-shaped bracket 49.

The pivotal connection in thisinstance comprises rivets 59. a horizontal axis is thus permitted. The base of the U-shaped bracket 49 is connected. byscrews and 52 to a vertically depending leg 53 of a window attaching element 54. This element has,

a vertically disposed portion 55 welded to one: sideof the windowchannel l6 and a horizontal- Movement of arms 45 zand; 46 iabout:

intermediate tongue 56 which is welded to the baseo f the channel.

As best'seen in Figs 1 and 2, a bracket Ell-is secured. to plat I8 near the lowerend of the plate, Opposite ends 58 and 59 of the. bracket fit against flanges 22 and 23, and the upturned flange 66 of the bracket is weldedto the base 19 of the platej A rubber cushioning block as is supported upon the bracket 5'! and is provided...

with anaperture or slot 62 for receiving the shaft 36. .Thebra cket 51 is likewise provided with a slot: for this purpose. ,Therubber block. is re tained in position by the upturned edges 53 of.

the bracket, and serves to cushion the nut 44. at

the lower end of its movement as ,well as limit;

ing its reciprocation and insuring straightline movement thereof.

A pair of swinging arms 65 and 66 are pivotally mounted upon the plate, I6 at equal distances on v opposite sides of the vertically disposed screw.

shaft 36. plate is enlarged to form a boss 67.. .A pivotpin 68 is mounted in boss Bland has flats 69 to prevent rotation of the pin relative to the plate.

Arm 65 is pivotally supported upon the pivot pin a 68 and is held axially against the boss by any suitable means.

Intermediate its ends rib 28 of the r Rib 29 is also.enlargedintermediate its. ends to form a boss it] which is elongated in a gen erally vertical direction This boss is provided with an elongated arcuate slot H concentric with pivot pin 68. pivot pin 12 which has one end threaded to -re-- ceive a nut 13 to enable it to be clamped in any desired position in the slot, for a purpose to be mor fully described hereinafter. Arm EiB-is pivotally supported upon the pin 12.

Arms and 66 are generally similar in con-. struction, and are progressively tapered or de- Extending through the slot is a ased n W himmth irinn r ends. 14 to eir outer; ends 15. The inner ends of the arms terminate in arcuate portions concentric with thepivot pins 68 and 12 respectively. and'forrned with peripheral gear; teeth -16. The;teeth on.

arms 65 and 66 are constantly in mesh thus providing simultaneous coordinated swinging movement of the two arms about their respective pivot pins.

Depending from the lower edge of the metal channel l6 at the bottom of window I5 are a pair of laterally spaced guide members 11 and 18. The guide members are positioned equal distances on opposite sides of the'vertical centerline of the window, and are provided with horizontally aligned elongated slots 19 and respectively. The upper ends 15 of the swinging arms 65 and 66 carry studs BI and 82 respectively, which are slidably received in the guide slots I9 and Bllrespectively.

Fig. 1 illustrates the relative position of the parts of the window operating mechanism when the window is in its uppermost or closed position. It will be noted that in this posiiton nut 44 is near the upper end of the screw shaft 36 and the swinging arms 65 and 66 aredisposed generally upwardly with the studs 8 l and 62 near theinner ends of slots 19 and Bfirespectively. As the motor 32 is operated to rotate shaft 36 and lower; the window, the studs carried at the outer ends of the arms 65 and 56 are moved outwardly inthe; slots in the guide members Ti and i8 respec-. t'ively, and the arms are simultaneouslyswung about their pivot pins, the arm 65 moving ina counterclockwise direction and the arm 66'-in ;a clockwisedirection. It willbe apparcntthatthe arms cooperate with each other and with the guide members "1? and 18 to guide the window in,,, a straight line direction during its opening and closing movements, thus preventing binding of th window in its channels and facilitatingits operation.

Misalignment of the window I5 in the. side channels 66 can be corrected by adjustment of the pivot pin 12 for the arm 66. This pin can be moved to any desired position in the arcuate I slot .H and clamped in its adjusted positionby. the nut 13. Inasmuch as the arcuate slot ll is .1 concentric with the pivot pin 68 for the arm 65'," it will be seen that the gear teeth 76 on the two, arms are maintained in proper meshing engage-- ment regardless of the adjustment of pivot pin 12.

A coil spring 83 encircles pivot pin 68 and one end of the spring projects into an opening 84in;- the pivot pin to positively connect this end to the pin. Since the pin 56 is non-rotatably mounted in plate i8, this end of the spring is effectively 1 anchored. The opposite and outer end of the spring extends through an opening 35 in a bracket- 86 carried by the arm 65. The arrangement of a the spring is such that the spring unwinds when the window moves upwardly, and winds up when the window is lowered. ,During lowering of the window. the weight of the latter assists in wind-. ing the spring, thus reducing the load on the motor. When the window is raised, the spring counterbalancesthe weight of the window and assists in raising it.

From the foregoing description it should be-evi-w dent that the means for raising and lowering the window is mounted on a bracket plate which may be easily and quickly installed as a unit-simply by attaching the plate to the door panel by screws 29, fastening the U-shaped element 49 to the window by means of screws 5| and 52, and. then positionin the pins 8i and 82 on the outer ends of the swinging arms in the slots 19 and 90 respectively in the guide members "I"! and 78. Plate I8 has adequate strength for supporting the assembly yet can be inexpensively constructed from sheet metal. The motor driven shaft 36 rotates freely in self aligning bearings and operates the window by reciprocatin nut 44. It will also be seen that the window is guided in a straight line direction by the arms 65 and 66 preventing tilting of the window and binding in the window channels. During lowering of the window, the arms 65 and 66 are rotated downwardly from the positions shown in Fig. 1 and when the window is completely lowered assume positions extending downwardly and outwardly from the pivot pins 68 and 12 respectively. Furthermore, means are provided for adjusting the position of one of the arms to compensate for initial misalignment of the window in its channels, and a counterbalancing spring is provided to reduce the load on the motor and facilitate the window raising operation.

Although I have shown and described certain embodiments of the invention, it will be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the exact construction shown and described, but that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention as defined in the appended claim.

I claim:

A window operating mechanism for reciprocating a window mounted in a motor vehicle for vertical slidin movement, said mechanism comprising an elongated plate adapted to be secured to the vehicle and disposed in a vertical position, a motor mounted on the lower end of said plate, a generally vertically disposed screw shaft rotatably supported on said plate and operatively connected to said motor, a generally T-shaped nut on said shaft movable therealong upon rotation of said shaft, a bracket having a pair of spaced legs, means for connecting said bracket to said window, a pair of spaced arm elements having corresponding ends pivotally connected to the cross portion of said T-shaped nut and having their opposite ends pivotally connected to said legs of said bracket, said arms constituting the sole means engaging said nut to prevent rotation thereof relative to said plate and window, a pair of swinging arms pivotally mounted at corresponding ends thereof on said plate on opposite sides of said screw shaft, said arms havin gear sectors at said corresponding ends provided with intermeshing gear teeth arranged to provide simultaneous and equal swinging movements of said arms, and means for securing'the outer ends of said arms to co-operating means carried by the window.

ALAN D. BRUNDAGE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 

